Reporting from Atlanta — Faced with a new federal policy that opens the door for more embryonic stem cell research, conservatives have geared up for a political battle at the national and state levels that goes to the core of their beliefs about the sanctity of human life.
Since President Obama lifted the eight-year ban on nearly all federal funding for stem cell research this week, conservative leaders have stepped up efforts to lobby Congress to preserve some restrictions, they said. They plan to launch a far-reaching campaign to educate the public about their point of view -- as well as research alternatives that are not as controversial.
"This executive order is just the beginning of the process. Our concern is how broad this will be interpreted, and will there be limitations," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "With limited tax dollars available, we should not use those funds for research that is at best morally questionable."
Embryonic stem cell research long has been a divisive issue in the U.S., pitting those who believe that destroying human embryos is wrong against those who tout stem cells' potential to save lives. Debates have been waged in Congress, among the public and within the religious community since researchers at the University of Wisconsin first successfully isolated stem cells from human embryos, in 1995.
The lifting of the research rules imposed by President Bush in 2001 means the National Institutes of Health will be developing parameters -- entailing new debate. Several states in recent years have taken steps to promote or restrict studies.
On Thursday, Georgia's Senate passed a bill to ban the creation of embryonic stem cell lines. The measure was hastily rewritten to address concerns that it would hamper the fertility industry.
The state legislation defines an embryo as a person, thus prohibiting its use in scientific research and making it illegal for researchers to create new ones. Violators could lose their medical license and be fined up to $1,000 for each offense. The legislation seeks to control the use of embryonic stem cells and moves the debate into the antiabortion arena.
"It is sort of an endgame if you are antiabortion," said Aaron Levine, an assistant professor of public policy at Georgia Institute of Technology. "It's not written explicitly in the bill, but if the embryo is a living human being, clearly the logical follow-up is that abortion is not appropriate. Some would argue that this is a backdoor way to get at the abortion issue."
